Kirsten D'Andrea Hollander '88 (Painting BFA) focused solely on creative expression through painting until attending the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1987. There she studied with Agnes Martin, a renowned abstract painter whose work exudes a deep inner silence. Ms. Martin had just begun experimenting with film and for Kirsten the seed was planted. Kirsten later turned to documentary storytelling after earning an MFA in Imaging and Digital Arts from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1997. Maya Angleo's quote, there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you, has provided sustenance for the collaborative documentary projects that have unfolded on Kirsten's path.
As a college professor for the past thirty-five years, Kirsten has witnessed profound educational contributions as well as shortcomings regarding integrated curriculum and financial support for students from underserved circumstances. In response, Kirsten launched the ‘Wings Video Skills Program for Girls’ in 2008 which resulted in the Anatomy of Wings documentary fourteen years later. Kirsten co-directed this film with youth mentor and author Nikea Redmond. The young women who appear in the film used donated camcorders to help document their own growing-up on screen from middle school to their twenties. Anatomy of Wings screened with Slamdance in 2021, won best feature-length documentary awards across the US and has screened internationally.
Kirsten’s first feature length film, Us, Naked: Trixie & Monkey was selected for an Independent Filmmaker Project Fellowship (now known as The Gotham) in 2010. This award winning film about the rigors of the artist’s journey premiered with DOC NYC in 2014 and is currently in international distribution.
Kirsten is currently working on a new feature documentary, Come Rest Here, about beloved puppeteer Lindsay Abromatis-Smith who was a performer in NYC until she was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. The film follows Lindsay for a year of her life within the delicate universe of her bedroom. As the seasons change outside her bedroom window, Lindsay must rely on others as she no longer has the use of her hands. This does not stop her from making art and writing poetry as she engages with her own mortality and the US Healthcare System. Come Rest Here is slated for completion in 2025.